Cultivating Culinary Literacy through Garden Education

Curriculum

• Make celebratory breakfast for lunch! Pancakes, scrambled eggs with kale, hash browns, all seasoned with onions, garlic, and herbs from the garden – served with lavender & rose lemonade and *homemade butter*
• Hold “body talk” discussion post meal

• What is a part of your body you’re proud of, unrelated to appearance?
  • (ex. When I climb a mountain and get to the top I feel extreme pride of my body’s ability to use its muscles and strength to carry me up there)
  • other examples can include problem solving or emotional strength, flexibility, moving quickly, etc.
  • What is a part of your body you’re proud of, related to appearance but not conventionally?
    • (ex. I have my grandmother’s fingers and feel I can hold some of the same skills she had when she used her hands)
      • other examples can be a parent’s smile or the same laugh as a favorite relative
  • What does food autonomy look like for you?
  • Do you feel like you’ve had beneficial and useful nutrition education in school? What do you wish to know more about?

We truly had the best season! It was tons of fun, ate so much good food, and got so much work done in the gardens. By the end of our 8 weeks, kids were eager to bring home kale everyday, their confidence had boosted, and one student even decided she wanted to be a chef when she grows up and had been cooking for her family meals the past month.

Curriculum:

• Discuss food waste uses: cleaning products, teas, stock & broth, sauces, medicine, etc.
• Has anyone in the group made products from food scraps before? If so, what?
• How can we make some of our favorite things ourselves: alternative milk, oat flour, herbed salts
• Whole foods are whole medicines – discuss ways we can introduce more medicines into our diet
• Define processed foods (continue to reestablish that there is no such thing as good or bad foods)
• Discuss food accessibility and sovereignty – discuss focusing on a trauma-informed lens and guide conversation so kids mediate their own flow in conversation
• Growing our own food and similar forms of autonomous practice is powerful and a way we can unanimously, regardless of politics or other beliefs, rely on ourselves and more closely work with community
• Food comes prepared in deceiving ways (baby carrots, carrots without tops, pre shredded lettuce and cabbage) – why is that? (convenience, sense of “clean”) what are the benefits and downsides? – if we don’t see carrots with the tops on, how would we know they are tasty and useful?
• Make gnocchi for carrot top pesto

Our favorite thing to do at HOPE is use our hands. When we’re not digging in the dirt or cooking freshly harvested meals, we craft. Mindful mindlessness is incredibly important for nervous system regulation, creativity, and emotional processing. Having a task for your hands and purpose to your actions, whether its harvesting potatoes or painting rocks, gives individuals a sense of place. Conversations flows when our hands are given an activity to focus on. The displacement of anxiety encourages walls to break down, allowing kids to open up and engage. These activities also allow the connection between movement and emotional processing is one we deeply focus on, crafting is also simply a blast to do together. Having a variety of tasks to offer allows for constant but variating stimulation. Working in the garden and participating in group projects is a great way for kids to channel their restlessness in productive and rewarding energy.

This week we harvested so many potatoes and lots of garlic scapes. It was an absolute joy cooking up the scapes with the kids since so many of them had never tried them before. Frying up freshly harvested potatoes is a treat we will be getting used to as we have such an abundance this year.

Curriculum:

• this week will be hot so we will keep a mellow set of workshops
• discuss the different uses of different parts of plants (ex. scapes and rosebuds)
• take multiple walks and talk about the different wild foods that are around us
• make lavender rose lemonade and rose honey
• make raspberry sticky rice and potatoes with fried garlic scapes

Group discussions are such an important part of what we do at HOPE. Whether it’s as the whole community or a small pack of folks walking and talking, it is crucial to process and explore thoughts with others – especially for teens and kids where group counseling is incredibly effective and important. This week I was apart of three compelling conversations…

While strolling to Callanan Community Garden I broke from the group and walked with two students. We passed a house bearing a politically charged flag from its flagpole. One student began sharing stories of her politically conservative family. She’s a young woman of color born to a white mother. She expressed she experiences erasure from her family, as they often invalidate her reality and discrimination she faces. “Not only does that make me feel kind of crazy,” she explained, “but they support people in power who want to take my rights away… on so many levels. What does that say about how they see me? I try to talk to them about this stuff but I’m outnumbered and told I don’t know what I’m talking about”.

During conversations like these, I try to offer as much support as I can while trying to decipher what kind of support is needed. In this moment I focused on validating her experience and reality. I can hold space for these discussions but my input must remain limited as I am white and lack an amount of formal training in facilitating this discourse than would make me feel comfortable leading it. I tapped into the workshops I have attended focusing on those that had been trauma-focused and asked lots of questions. We talked about different ways to cope, handle, and process not being seen and validated within our family, and how we can ask for support from others close to us. Even though I feel slightly short-handed in these conversations, they are crucial to be had and heard by all. The other student walking with us shared how she doesn’t experience racial erasure or discrimination so can’t quite empathize, but she does hold different views and beliefs than her family so she also feels estranged from them. Encouraging the kids to explore shared experiences helps them develop the language to hold sympathy and compassion for one another while also validating their own experiences.

When we walked the Teresa Johnson Trail after lunch, we sat down by the river and a group of us talked about one student’s tumultuous relationship with her mother. She explained how because of her mom’s absent parenting she’s had to step into the role of nurturing her baby sister. She divulged that this pressure and responsibility is affecting her other relationships, as she has noticed she feels the need to caretake friends, which results in her suppressing her own needs. This prompted an amazing conversation around attachment styles and the difficulty vocalizing our feelings and needs.

One of the greatest opportunities for group conversations is during our morning check-ins. We start each day going around the circle, giving everyone the chance to share how they are doing and answer the morning’s special question. It begins with a full body scan – how their mind, emotions, and body is feeling. Sometime’s our special question is fun and lighthearted and other times its a deeper prompt. This week’s prompt encouraged an amazing discussion. One morning this week we asked the group, “what is a time you accomplished something you didn’t think you could?”

“I have always been really shy and struggled making friends. This past year I found some confidence and have put myself out there and made friends.”

“I’m terrified of heights but really wanted to ride the tall rollercoasters at Wild Waves because my friends were. I didn’t think I could but I did and even though it was hard and I didn’t like it I’m proud of myself for trying.”

“I’ve always known who I am and that I’m trans but after I came out I was scared of sticking true to myself every day. It’s not aways easy but I’m always accomplishing staying true to myself.”

Conversations like these are so important to share with both small and large groups. Even if not everyone participates, just listening to others can teach so much. Knowing so many peers face similar issues can encourage kids to not feel alone and more comfortable sharing with one another. There’s so much to learn from community.

Curriculum:

• Discuss different methods of preserving and maximizing our produce, such as:
• Refresh wilting greens in ice bath
• Put paper towel in bag with greens to keep from getting soggy
• Store carrots & celery in water – fresh for weeks
• Store herbs and green onions in jar/glass of water & cover with bag
• Make extra sauce / broth and freeze. Store veggie scraps in freezer to boil into broth later
• Squeeze lemon juice on avocado / guac to keep from browning
• Keep cheese blocks in paper bags
• Freeze bread – don’t refrigerate
• Use leftover ground meat and make burgers to freeze for later
• When you use the last of mustard, use the leftovers in the jar to make dressing, make overnight oats in pb jar
• Freeze leftover herbs in oil / water in ice cube tray
• Store produce in proper spots in the fridge – veggies in crisper, condiments in door, top shelves have consistent temps so good for dips / hummus, leftovers, middle shelf good for dairy products and eggs, lower shelves best for meat bc coolest also “dripping” (food safety)
• Make veggie sushi

After talking about all the different ways we can keep our produce fresh and at its best, we made our own version of some vegetable sushi. Almost all the veggies came from the garden and we discussed the different ways we can eat more vegetables than normal by making meals and snacks like veggie sushi. Practicing our sushi rolling practices as a group was tons of fun and the meal was more filling than anyone expected. We even brought it true wasabi! A few of the kids and one of our staff all took to the challenge of trying some. Let’s just say their sinuses are probably still clear.

This week we spent a lot of time at the Callanan Community Garden and the Evergreen Elementary School Garden. We cleaned up the walkways and fence lines as well as tended to our food bank beds. We talked about usable soil, healthy soil, and proper watering practices. At the hospital garden, we collected lemon balm, red raspberry leaves, and a few other herbs. We made bundles and hung them in the shed to dry. With a small group working on that project, we talked about natural and wild plant medicines. We talked about red raspberry’s effect on reproductive health as well as many herbs that are good for relaxation.

Curriculum:

• Look at ingredient list for Top Ramen and something else. So many additives, extra salt and sugar, weird ingredients we cant pronounce, flavors,  and food colors,
• Every single ingredient in your packaged meal is sourced – it comes from some plant, grown somewhere, harvested by someone, processed by others, packaged by more.
• When we make things ourselves we have more control over the ingredients – its more direct (and inevitably less additives)
• Food is a journey: ingredients are raised, processed, and transported – many industries are effected
• Home cooked allows us to have control as well as create a relationship with our ingredients and meals
• Make homemade ramen

This week we inspected a packet of Top Ramen. We looked up ingredients we didn’t know and talked about the production line of how something like Top Ramen is made. There are hundreds of hands, dozens of farms and producers, and who knows how many factories go into the entire production process. After completing an activity called “Food Story Clues” we discussed the pros and cons and definitions of “processed” foods. A sentiment I continue to drive home is that there is no such thing as good or bad foods, healthy and unhealthy foods are subjective, and we do not permit food shame at HOPE Garden. An exercise like this one is important in dismantling those stigmas. We offered swaps and ingredients to add to increase nutritional value to an inexpensive and accessible, familiar food. In our big pot of ramen we added carrots, onions, spinach, and peas from the garden. We offered optional seaweed and tofu as well. We talked about different ways to season it without using the included seasoning packet and ways to include quality and inexpensive sources of protein like eggs and canned chicken. I highlighted the reality of the meal being incredibly inexpensive to make, coming out to around $.33 per serving. It is my responsibility as a nutrition educator to provide realistic options. This may look like working with familiar flavors and tastes, culturally relevant foods, how to make the most of ingredients one has and encourage culinary creativity, and making sure that every meal we share is financially feasible to recreate.

When I began explaining what our food project of the day was going to be, one of our youth beamed with excitement. His older brother had participated with HOPE a few years prior and did a similar workshop where they made homemade ramen. He said that his brother makes “beefed up ramen all the time at home, and he learned it from HOPE”. That is why we teach what we do at HOPE. That is a success story.

Curriculum:

• Community! Everyone has a relationship to food and eating, we are all forced by the media to see and compare ourselves to societal standards. This space is incredibly necessary because as a community we don’t talk about these relationships enough and by doing so we build empathy, support, and break down stigma
• Mental health and our connection to eating – we pick up a lot of habits from our parents and families
• Cooking and intentional eating has been my personal self-care journey / reclaiming negative relationships to cooking, eating, and my body. For me, this is a story I get to continue to write which is why I encourage the food journals/cookbooks
  • The energy we put into our food, we put into our bodies. This is why its best to make food homemade or eat foods you grew yourself. Have you ever eaten something your parent made when they were really mad? Could you “taste” the difference?
  • Because eating is such a communal activity, it’s really easy to become influenced / affected by the people around us. If someone was mean to you around food or made fun of your food, it may change that relationship – has this happened to you?
• Cooking is a way to deepen our relationship with food, families, and places.
• Show and tell of recipes
• Make pasta e fagioli (have soup already going when we have our talk / share recipes from home – have kids harvest kale and garnish)  

This week we talked about family recipes and food memories. I opened our cooking program by sharing anecdotes about my own relationship to food.

“In my family, meals were often paired with hostility. I experienced the privilege of home-cooked meals almost nightly in a family whose lineage was defined in shared meals and communal cooking. What a juxtaposition it was. No matter how delicious the food might be I could always taste the disdain, malice, spite, and yelling that occurred alongside its preparation. Not every meal was like this – it was mostly holidays or when tensions were high for reasons my childhood self wasn’t capable of seeing. But this made me dislike meals. I had no interest in cooking. What should’ve been beautiful, suburban, ‘white picket fence’ memories are clouded by uncomfortable experiences.

This set the tone for my young adult self’s relationship to food and eating. The stress surrounding meals paired with societal pressure of obtaining a body image was a recipe for disaster. After years of unhealthy dynamics and shame, I wanted to reclaim that part of my life, so I did. Now it’s my passion and joy. Now I want to share beautiful meals with people because it’s in my control to do so. I hope if there is anyone who has experienced similar circumstances, that the act of cooking together can help heal them too – if even just a little bit.

Shared company, preparing food for those you care for, allowing space for conversation and vulnerability to flow, and strengthening bonds and relationships are such special things we have the control of experiencing. If not in our daily lives, then we have it here and we have it together. This space will be where we laugh and share stories of the day, facts and things we’ve learned, and talk about our experiences.”

We made my mother’s Pasta e Fagioli recipe and went around the circle allowing everyone to share a recipe they got from their family. Some had their favorite meal one has made for them, some had a weekly staple, some had a dish that is only made on special occasions. It was wonderful to hear everyone’s stories and imagine what their recipe tastes like. There wasn’t a drop of soup left by the end.

Curriculum:

• Different oils (hydrogenated oils like veggie or canola are higher in trans fats which aren’t the good kinds of fats, can lead to health problems over time)
  • Like sugar and salt, fats have a way of sneaking into our prepared foods – always read ingredient lists
  • Low temp: olive oil, butter
  • High temp: avocado, sunflower, vegetable
• Spice basics: these are how you elevate and distinguish a meal – why cuisines from different regions taste the way they do
  • photographs of spice plants
  • Black pepper
  • Paprika: slightly sweet and peppery, versatile (chicken or veggies), popular in Hungarian, Spanish, Balkan, middle eastern, and American cuisine. Add on chicken or hummus
  • Onion / garlic powder: great substitute for the real deal, used to add extra & condensed flavor, good for dressings
  • Italian seasoning: usually consists of thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, and marjoram. Can be used on more than just Italian food. (add to oil and vinegar to make simple dressing)
  • Rosemary: great for chicken, veggies, soups, and breads
  • “Taco Seasoning”: chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion/garlic powder, etc.
• Pantry staples:
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Rice
  • Baking powder/soda
  • Oils
  • Vinegars  
  • Mustard / mayo
  • Canned beans (as many as possible – so versatile), canned tomatoes, soup base (bouillon)
• Make vinaigrette  and ranch dressing
• Assign homework: everyone bring a recipe of their families’ or a favorite

This week we built our outdoor kitchen! We constructed large “L” shaped counters for us to prepare food on. As a group, we made homemade versions of dressings we already know and love, and we talked about the versatility of spices and seasonings. We wrote out our Community Contract together, discussing personal boundaries, highlighting how to care for one another, and agreeing to all partake in “no thank you” bites when making unfamiliar foods.

The kids had a blast making dressing this week. They were engaged when it came to discussing what goes into making some of their favorites, which provides inspiration for adventurous eating. Many were unfamiliar with dill – this led to great conversations about all the ways we can use dill in our cooking, including plans to make pickles in a few weeks. We added toasted nuts, apple, and sunflower seeds to our salad. “Sneaking” fruits into my meals is one of my favorite things to do and this led to a fun conversation on how we can do that at home. Salads are often deemed as boring or unexciting. Collectively we talked about why that is, the importance of fresh veggies, and how we can make them full and balanced meals ourselves.

Curriculum:

• Summer focus is on putting our bodies and minds first
• Basic nutrition: examples of protein, fiber, fats, sugars / vitamins & minerals / food is medicine food is fuel
• Relationship to water – how much should you drink?
  • Recommended 80-120 ounces a day
• Relationship to sugar – how much should you eat?
  • Recommended 6-9 tsp / 24-36 grams // one serving of gummy bears is about 21 grams, one serving of strawberries is about 7g
  • What is glucose & how does it affect your body / why do we need it
  • Fruit sugar vs processed sugar
• Relationship to salt – how much you should eat?
  • Recommended 1500 mg per day
  • One serving of lays original is 170mg (who eats just one serving?)
  • One serving of Ragu pasta sauce is 460mg (when we make things ourselves, we control how much goes in)
• Dietary restrictions?
• Cookbook intro: goal of books, discuss how they are safe spaces for everyone to explore their relationship to foods as well as a resource guide. Discuss how cooking is another way to engage in growing plants, drawing and being creative, and relaxation practices
  • Nutrition discussion questions
• Make mango salsa & write recipe in books
  • Cooking is creative and you can do whatever you want in the kitchen – no rules!
  • Add cabbage to make it a slaw, add chopped chicken to make it a chicken salad, adjust spices and flavors as you like.
  • Don’t be afraid of adding fruits into savory dishes (peach chicken, blackberry vinaigrettes, fruit in salads, etc.)

To begin the season, I felt it was important to establish language right off the bat to begin creating a safe space for conversations about our bodies, food, and mental health. Ending stigmas and isolations regarding these issues can only begin to be tackled through discussion. Affirming that HOPE’s table is a safe space to share and explore these topics was the first step to beginning the program.

I handed out everyone's Garden Journals as we sat around the picnic tables. I asked a series of questions - themes we will return to later in the season - and they wrote out their answers inside their new journals. Once finished, we began to chop up vegetables for our meal. While doing so, we discussed our answers together. There was no requirement to share or participate in the conversation, only to listen. 

Some of the questions we discussed:

- What is your relationship to snacking like? 
- What is your relationship to vegetables?
- What is one of your favorite meals?
- Do you experiment with new and unfamiliar foods? What was the last new food you tried?
- What food makes you happy?
- Can you decipher your cravings?
- Are you a routine or convenience eater?
- Do you notice reactions your body has to foods that you eat? (Bloating, blood sugar spike, nausea, energy, etc.)
- Do you think you have autonomy around foods accessible to you?  
- How is your family's relationship to food?

Throughout the week we focused on building up the soil and planting seeds at the Callanan Community Garden and tidied up the beds at the hospital garden. We played lots of great games and enjoyed “Sit-Spot Time” – a time when everyone picks a place to sit and be in silence for 10-15 minutes. It’s a great way to connect with our inner monologue, our bodies, our environment, and to refresh and reset.